to make things worse, that boat has all but lost its seal of approval from the coastguard. >> john glenn is our primary boat. >> reporter: at age 50 the john glenn is still patrolling the potomac, but the biggest boat in the d.c. fire department's three-boat rescue neat isn't what it used to be -- rescue fleet isn't what it used to be. >> when it's running properly, it breaks up the ice and keeps the river open. >> reporter: lots of people are questioning whether john glenn is up to the job given the new threats to homeland security. d.c. fire officials confirmed the communication system is broken. the boat's radio cannot transit an automated distress call. >> part of the communication system doesn't work. they're using a much older system to communicate with one another. >> reporter: the coastguard documentation for the glenn has expired and that has the fire chief especially upset. >> it appears that the certification for the boat that should have been applied for back in august, the date was missed. >> reporter: built in 1962 this was already a used boat

when the fire department got it. right now they estimate the cost of repairs about $700,000. where is that funding? >> we're still looking for it. >> reporter: it was nearly four years ago whena gust of wind helped push the spirit of washington into an fbi boat, a d.c. police boat and finally the john glenn. 50-year-old glenn ended up with a 15-foot long gash in its hull peeling it back like a can opener. at issue today is whether to continue trying to get grants for repair to the glenn or start lobbying capitol hill for funds to buy a new state of the art rescue boat. >> there are some challenges internally that the members figured out how to work around, but we need to get the boat in order. we've also got other maker news from the d.c. fire department. i've already -- major news from the d.c. fire did. i've already tweeted about this. chief ellerbe plans to redeploy city ambulance crews reducing the level of ambulance service between 1:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the morning.

we're talking about 14 fewer medic units. now he also would increase the number of ambulances during peak hours. that's mostly during the day. he said paramedics on the fire trucks would be covering those ambulance calls overnight. so the guys working the trucks will have to come over and start manning the ambulance? >> it's quite possible those firefighter paramedics may have to help out from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. i know they complained about having to work long hours and it's too hard and i gave them a proposal. we're talking about reducing those hours. hopefully they'll step up and serve the citizens like they're supposed to. >> again paramedics on the fire trucks would fill in for the 14 medic units we'd lose between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. in the morning. >> i can only imagine this is to put more crews when there are more calls, but i also imagine the union wants to say something about this. >> they'll meet tomorrow and after that the chief hopes to come up with a formal announce. tomorrow we have should learn specific about consolidating d.c. schools for next -- specifics about consolidating d.c. schools for

next year. chancellor kaya henderson is expected to release a list of all the the underpopulated schools they -- the underpop populated schools they think should be closed. when the fiscal cliff occurs, everything will be hit from the defense department to metro. virginia governor mcdonnell has ordered stating as to reduce their budgets by 4%. economists predict we could lose a half million jobs in our area alone if the cuts take effect. congress comes back to work this week. the union represent being the janitorial staff at walter reed filed several formal complaints this morning after its members said they just didn't get their paychecks friday. the service employees international union says almost 300 janitors at the national military medical center haven't been paid for two weeks. the contractor claims it hasn't been paid by the government and that's why it hasn't paid those

employees. as we observe this veterans day, we want to ask you to help us help our troops. right now you are looking at our turkeys for troops phone bank here in our wusa9 studios. we're trying to raise enough money to give 1,200 military families in our area thanksgiving and christmas baskets. if you want to help out, call our food bank number at 202-895- 5560 or log onto www.wusa9.com. click on the uso button to make an online donati. if dollars will feed a family of six. if you can't afford that amount, any amount is appreciated. your donation will be helping out families like the leaders at fort belvoir who as our andrea roane reports are finding out it is not necessarily cheaper by the zen. >> >> reporter: dinner time at the leaders is controlled

chaos. lori and her husband, staff sergeant tim leader run a tight ship. they have no choice. >> i'm josh and this is jasper. >> i'm jarrett. >> i'm jess and i this is jedi. >> i'm jeremy. >> i'm jalen and this is judy. >> i'm jew day why. >> i'm jonah. >> i'm joel -- i'm judy. >> i'm jonah. >> i'm joel. >> reporter: in case you lost count, the leaders have 12 children. >> i remember seeing an ad that says the average family will go through 27 boxes of creel in a year and kind of laughed -- cereal in a year and i kind of laughed at that because we go through 50 boxes in a month. >> reporter: their monthly grocery bill is $600. throw in a big holiday meal and the budget can get tight. >> it's not necessary all that we wouldn't have a dinner if the uso didn't provide it, but we would have to budget that in and we would have to probably cut in other areas to make sure that, you know, we had all the trimmings and everything like

that. so for the uso to be able to kind of take that burden of it off is a huge thing for us. >> reporter: staff sergeant leader has served one tour in iraq. he knows what it like to be away from home for the holidays. he also knows duty can call again any time. >> i don't take for granted our holidays together because i think of all the troops that are out there, how many of these guys can't be around their families during the holidays and how blessed am i to be able to be at home with mine. >> reporter: and how blessed to have the uso by his family's side. andrea roane, 9 news now. >> if you'd like to honor our active duty military, people like tim leader and his family, please consider donating to the uso's turkeys for troops. your donation will help buy thanksgiving and christmas food baskets. any amount is appreciated. all you have to do is call our phone bank right now 202-895- 5560 or go online to donate at

www.wusa9.com. all the money that you donate stays right here to help our local families and we want to give a quick shout out. we've gotten one donation for $250 which is great and also lynn from la plata called in a $100 donation. we take whatever you want to give. we want you to call that number. we are now learning that harassing e-mails appear to have played a big role in the scandal that forced david petraeus to step down as head of the cia, those e-mails reportedly sent to a female family friend of petraeus, sent from paula broadwell with whom petraeus was having an fair. get all that? apparently broadwell felt the family friend was get doing close to petraeus. the woman -- getting too close to petraeus. the woman who received the e- mails called the fbi and that touched off the whole thing. now some claim the president is not keeping an important promise. coming up at 7:00 more on the plea from the vets to the

federal government at 7:00. still to come in this half hour they are designed to ease congestion along the beltway. we'll take a closer look at the options to pay to use the new express lanes opening this weekend. >> very warm today but no record highs. here's what goes in the books, 72 the official high at national, 49 the low, averages 60 and 42. we'll come back and talk about a little reality check for temperatures, tell you when the rain rolls in and how cold it's going to get. >> but first what could prove to be a key clue in one of the causes of autism, the potential link between illness and pregnancy next in our health alert. >> if pure looking for a way to -- you're looking for a way to say thank you to our u.s. military, why not donate money that goes toward a holiday food basket this season? everything you donate stays right in the d.c. area to help our local service members and their families. so call our phone line 202-895- 5560. our phone bank will take your

donations until 7:30 tonight.

in tonight's health alert another clue in the quest to understand what causes autism. a danish study of 97,000 children over a six year period found the risk of being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder was twice as high when mothers had the flu

during pregnancy. if the mother had a fever more than a week, children had a risk three times as high. >> common sense would say it wouldn't be good for the baby to be exposed to high temperatures or to a virus that's in your bloodstream. >> now researchers stress the results of this study are very preliminary. overall risks are very low. the cdc estimates one in 88 children in the united states has some form of autism. by the way, pregnant women are advised to get a flu shot. we checked the centers for disease control's website today to see how this year's flu season is shaping up. at this point virginia is one of eight states where there have been no reports of influenza so far. that's reported cases. maryland is one of 33 states to report sporadic activity. d.c. also has sporadic activity. eight states have localized activity reported and just one, maine, is reporting regional activity, more widespread flu up there. a new option to avoid beltway traffic opens this weekend, but to use it you have

to be prepared. so to use the express lanes between the mixing bowl and the dulles toll road you need to have an ez pass or flex pass if you plan to carpool. >> reporter: i'm peggy fox in tysons corner. the drive into this busy place could be a lot easier come saturday when the express lanes open up, but you're going to need an ez pass. if you commute with three or more people on board, you can ride free as long as you have a flex pass. anyone who has an ez pass or smart tag can use the new express lanes which run both directions from springfield to the dulles access road. >> i think it's great. >> reporter: there are new entrance and exit ramps exclusively for the express lanes. two go in and out of busy tysons corner. the tolls vary. the more crowded, the more expensive in order to keep traffic slowing on the express lanes at or above 45 miles per hour. the tolls may be as high as $10 each way unless you'll be carpooling or on a bus.

>> flex, i think i can use the same one, right? >> reporter: no. you'll need a flex pass if you'll be hov-ing with three on board. then it's free. peggy fox, 9 news now. day in, day out america's service members stand on the line to protect our freedom. if you're looking for a way to give back to them, please consider calling our uso turkeys for troops phone bank 202-895-5560. we've got uso members, the capital slapshot, cheerleaders here taking your calls. i want to give a special shout out right now to john in easton, maryland. he donated $500. thank you, john, but any amount will help us reach our goal. you can call the number on your screen to donate or also go to www.wusa9.com and click on the uso button and you can donate online. turkeys for troops, 202-895- 5560. we'll be right back.

it's veterans day and here at wusa9 we're back with a way you can help our troops in the d.c. metro area. you are looking at a live shot of our uso turkeys for troops phone bank. we are trying to raise enough money to feed 1,200 local military families this

thanksgiving and christmas. we'll be taking your donations until 7:30 tonight. if you'd like to contribute, the phone number 202-895-5560. we've heard the phones ringing. you can also donate online by going to www.wusa9.com. we also have a larger gift here, a special check presentation. joining me is paul cristman, vice president of the public sector at the dell company here to present elaine rogers of the uso of metropolitan washington with a large check in many ways. >> a very large check. thank you, anita. on behalf of the people of dell very pleased and proud to present this check of $15,000 to the uso of metropolitan washington to support turkeys for troops. this is our third year. >> that's wonderful. elaine, how much just to buy one basket for a family? this is going to help a lot. >> this is going to be fantastic because each basket really is forth $50 en dell just committed when we do --

worth $50. then dell just committed when we do this next year, we'll get new computers. >> this is fantastic. through donations like this and yours we are making a difference for so many troops as we head into the holiday season and their families. >> 1,200. >> congratulations. thank you for being here. you still have a little over an hour to call our phone bank, 202-895-5560 if you'd like to donate toward holiday food baskets for local military families, no amount too large or small. you can also go to our website www.wusa9.com to make your donation online. let's start with a live look outside, our live weather cam brought to you by michael and son. high temperature 72. we're still 63. there will be cooler air coming in late by dawn as the cold front rolls through. pressure rising 30.22, winds out of the south at 6. you can see the winds out of the south,

pretty clear line of demarcation there. the good news for us, we have a few more showers. the showers and rain will not get in here till 9:00 or 10:00 in the immediate metro area. it will get into the mountains, hagerstown, couple cumberland accident back toward oakland. 57 in fairfax, 68 in burke, 66 out toward college park, 62 in bowie, one of the cooler readings. so back to reality. grab your umbrella tonight, keep it handy tomorrow. you'll need a jacket tomorrow as well and keep it the rest of the week, breezy, cooler, afternoon commute tomorrow dry, wet on the way, though. 11:00 at night, some showers into frederick, leesburg, a couple showers toward baltimore and d.c. and couple showers in southern maryland. until then we're in pretty good shape. then everything rolls through overnight. you may even hear a rumble of thunder, showers, rain, generally light to moderate activity. by 8:00 in the morning everything is beginning to pull

out. the morning commute will be wet, but by this time tomorrow we're looking at clear skies, cooler and drier air moves back. in next three days because of the morning showers 9 weather alert yellow tomorrow, 52, 50, nice but chilly wednesday and still breezy. highs will struggle to get to 50, nice and cool thursday, temperatures in the low 50s. next seven days, still nice on friday and saturday for the terps. right now for the redskins some rain and showers possible, much cooler, highs in the upper 40s on sunday and monday. back to you guys. >> going to be time to bundle up. the skins are coming off think bye week. >> they needed that rest i think. the redskins back to work and a key player returns to practice and it's a banner night for local sports, a caps coast entering the hall of fame and a nats star could walk away with a big surprise. those stories are next. >> don't forget our uso turkeys for troops phone bank open

until 7:30 tonight. if you'd like to donate any money toward a holiday food basket for a local military family, the number 202-895- 5560. we'll be right back with more 9news. i'm anita brikman with this health alert.

teens have shown virtual colonoscopy without laxatives can find potentially cancerous polyps as well as the test. many think the bowel cleansing prep before colonoscopy is the worst part which isn't needed with the laxative 3.

and now 9 sports with kristen berset. >> a week off can do a body good. the washington redskins getting back to work today in ashburn after their bye week. lots to mull over after their embarrassing loss to carolina, but some good news, though. several injured players returned to practice for the first time in a while including this guy, receiver pierre garcon. he's been out since week one of the season after hurting his foot. now these guys weren't full speed. maker shanahan said it was just good to have them back. >> we got a chance to work for the first time, haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but he looked like he did some good things. i'm just hoping there's no setback. i know it's painful for him, but he wanted to work through it today. >> knowing that you're not 100% isn't as happy as i want to be, but trying to take the positive and being out there and trying to give my team some energy to play forward and make this run. >> could the redskins be less a shanahan next season? the philadelphia inquirer has

one on the replacement list for andy reid. our latest game of the week poll choices this week include langley at undefeated ton bridge, no. 4 chantilly at top -- stone bridge, no. 4 chantilly, also. went from being undrafted to one of the league's most' let setup men. now he's in charge of guiding the washington capitals to a stanley cup as soon as the labor dispute is over. adam oates gets to add one more title to hiss are pay. after 19 years in the nhl -- his resume. after 19 years in the nhl he will be entered into the hall of fame. oates says this is just an awesome class to be a part of. >> those are the guys i played against every night in my career and the guys of night when you went into a city or they came into yours, you're going to try to play better be

than they are and match up against and there's a mutual respect no. better honor than being grouped with your peers. tonight major league baseball has begun handing out their big end of season awards. the nats bryce harper one of three nl finalists will be announced tonight. we'll have that for you at 11:00. i'm kristen berset. back over to you guys. thanks. and on behalf of the uso metropolitan washington, we thank all of you for donating to turkeys for troops. $1,000 came in from rachel. >> so far we have raised $40,075, enough for 801 baskets, our goal is 1,200 baskets and they will go to local military families for pay joyous holiday meal. you've got -- a joyous holiday meal. you've got until 7:30 tonight to call our phone bank, 202-895- 5560 or you can donate online at www.wusa9.com. >> that's it for us. the cbs evening news is next. derek will see you at 7:00. we hope you'll keep calling

that number. >> good night, everyone.